Chapter 14

We were eating our meal in the main house when the pack detected something wrong. We stopped eating but that was odd so I ordered them to continue eating but to monitor the situation.

Some beepers went off and two of the staff left. They didn't come back. "Bobby, go to the bathroom and try to find out what happened as you go."

"Yes, Piper."

The boy wiped his lips. He had just finished his desert and he would not mind leaving.

"Kim, go to another bathroom."

"Yes, Piper."

Kim found the answer first. "Piper. Knox has come under some armed attack. They are requesting a backup. Security is leaving now. The teachers and regular staff are on alert."

"Return." This may be our chance to leave but we only had one driver and that was Jess. Brandon claimed to know how to drive but he had very little experience.

"Pack, spread out casually until you can realistically say that you know what is going on then tell the rest when you are close. Remember, hide our true range."

The official word came back with Jess. She said verbally, "Piper, Miss Knox is in danger. People are shooting at her."

"Oh, my god. What are we going to do?" I paused theatrically and said, "An armed attack on Miss Knox could be anybody. We have to guard the house. Take the dogs to the walls and put them on top. They can patrol from that position. They can jump down and warn us or bark. Break out the bows and arm yourselves. They will probably ram the gates so park a car to block anybody getting up the driveway. Park them sideways across the gates."

"Yes, Piper."

The gang broke up because each one of us knew what to do by this time. The security building was vacant but I knew that cameras were still recording. The armoury had not been secured and I figured somebody was going to get shit. I took pistols and ammunition and handed it to Brandon and Tatum. They went to Jess to give him a pistol. She had the keys to a car and she drove this to the back gate to block it. Another car took William and Dina to the front. A second car for each was stationed fifty metres from the gates for protection. The one by the gate was only used to block the drives.

The teachers were running around and some tried to stop us but we just ignored them. Inspiration struck and I got the students to gather all the important computers and put them in the crematorium. This included all those that had any data on them relating to our research. I could not get in the safes logically so I left them and their contents.

I had no intention of destroying the computers, but Knox will learn of how I prepared for this contingency and I might get something as a reward.

Kim was posted at the crematorium. She hated the place because she had finally accepted that a lot of people had gone in and came out as gas and dust with a few lumps of burnt bone.

Rounds were made so it looked good but it was also training for us. Perhaps we were in luck and the Monster would die. I called Tiffany but had to watch what I said. We could not escape now anyway. Sam was still hanging on and we couldn't leave him. If Knox died, we could simply walk away. If she lived then we could work harder to get her enemies some data they could use to finish the job.

Bobby, Joy, and Missy brought water to those stationed near the cars. I rotated the crews so nobody had any position longer than an hour. The dogs were told to continue their patrols but I brought one down while the rest patrolled. The top of the wall was not very wide.

This was all a game to us but as such we treated the game seriously. This was practice for what we may one day face and I wanted the least number of casualties.

We were prepared to take this preparedness through the night but security returned in small numbers until we could put the cars back. The guns had not been fired but we cleaned each of them anyway for practice. Then they were put back where they belonged.

Knox had been wounded but not killed. Three security people were killed and one more looked to be in serious condition. One of the lab assistants had died and it looked bad for the other one. One of the security people was wounded but not seriously enough to be hospitalised. All of us visited her so we could search through her memories to find out what happened.

She didn't like this happening until we used our voices to ask. She told us what she saw and then it was ok. As with most humans, she saw the events in her mind differently than what we did when we viewed the data.

The attackers had not got away unscathed. Seven had died and at least four more were wounded. There was not enough data to go by but the attackers could have acted more rationally. The only reason I could see for their actions was that they were planning on capturing Knox. They hadn't been prepared for her strong defence. They tried to push their way through by force but they failed here also. The only alternative was to withdraw but they didn't seem to want to do that. They must have had strong motivation.

Television was frowned upon at school but used for news and important events. Knox would be really pissed to find out how her face was plastered in news reports that came from other countries. She was famous as a researcher and a person that was instrumental in developing some important drugs.

This presented another way of attacking Knox. I called Tiffany but she didn't answer. The pack and I worked on an information packet that Tiffany could send anonymously that would cause Knox the most harm.

That night we didn't have the jitters but we were excited. The excitement had to be released and this meant sex. The pack wanted an orgy and that's what it got. With all of us linked the way we were the strengths of our orgasms increased. The sexual atmosphere was almost tangible.

The boys tried hard to hold back like a long distance runner. The girls wanted an intense coupling. We might have got something in between. Kim and I went after semen and vaginal secretions but it was not mechanical. We were wrapped up in the orgy and received as much as we gave.

We slept on the floor with the mattresses pulled together. It was so much better sleeping while touching skin than being in a bed. When we woke up we were happy and smiled at each other. There was strong love here but not what I expected to find when I found a mate. What I had now was different.

Tiffany phoned and it was hard to understand her. She was crying uncontrollably. I managed to get her location and called a taxi so we could bring her back. I took Tatum and Brandon and left Dina in charge. It was not hard to speculate on the cause of Tiffany's actions.

Tiffany lived in an apartment now. When we got close to her it was almost like being hit by a blast of heat. Tiffany opened the door for us and we held each other tightly as we searched her mind for the details.

We stood like this for a half hour then we laid down on the bed to cry more. We knew the details but Tiffany had to explain what she saw and felt.

It was hard for her to face her memories but she tried the best she could. "The man came into the hospital room dressed in whites. He tried to act so innocent but he wasn't. He wanted Sam and he wanted me if he could get me. He looked at me funny. I think he knew that I was onto him."

She shivered at the memory and went on. "He said that Sam had to go for tests and I could go with him if I wanted. Sam pulled himself together because he could see the danger. He actually told me to go along with the plan.

"I was scared more than I have ever been in my whole life. I didn't know what to do but Sam did. My mind would just not work. Another man came in dressed the same. They pretended to be orderlies. They moved Sam to a smaller bed and then they pushed him down the hallway. I looked and looked as we went but I could not see the people that were supposed to be watching Sam.

"We came to the elevator and Sam's voice came the clearest ever to me." Tiffany started to cry. Tears ran down her face. "Sam told me to say I forgot something at the nurses station. I couldn't read his mind. He had me blocked. He never did that to me. I didn't want to go but he made me. I told the men the fib and hurried away because they could bring out their guns.

"I only got half way when the elevator doors closed. I heard Sam say as clear as could be, 'Goodbye my love. I will always love you. Remember that part of me is in our daughter.' I could not go on and ran back and pushed the button. The elevators wouldn't come. From the basement I felt Sam's mind grow and grow. He was gathering some type of power. He aimed it at the two men and then let it go. The power was too much for Sam. I felt him expand until he was as big as a house and then start to fade."

Tiffany broke down now and cried great wracking sobs. The rest of us did too. The pack was in pain and we did what we could to fix it.

We stayed with Tiffany that night. We learned a bit more about the hospital. Knox had two people protecting Sam but the opposition had seen them and knocked them out. We talked about Sam and cried. I somehow knew that this was the best thing to do. The next morning we went to see Sam's parents. They had no idea what had happened except that two men had tried to kidnap their son and they had mysteriously died when their son had. The coroner had Sam and it would be a sure bet that he would not release the body for a while.

The fact that two kidnappers died in the basement of a hospital and Knox had been in a gun battle in another meant that there would be a big investigation.

I asked Tiffany, "What did you tell Knox?"

"That Sam was worried about me and our child. I didn't know what he had planned. The cops learned nothing since it was all a mystery to me."

"I'm going to be asked too."

Knox had already prepared for Sam's funeral and she made sure he would be cremated to hide any evidence of her actions. Sam's parents had gone along with this because Sam had wanted it this way.

Sam's parents wanted Tiffany to stay with them. Part of it was to help but another part was to keep Sam's baby near them. They had heard that Sam was sure the child was a girl and the parents were pleased. Both had a small nagging worry that the baby would have the same malady as her father. To tell the truth, so did I.

We had not heard from or about Amanda for a while now and I tried to contact her. Kelly said on the phone, "I was told she checked herself out of the hospital." Kelly knew a lot and she didn't like what Knox did. Knox usually told her what she wanted us to know.

I got the name of the hospital and found out that Kelly was right. I also knew that Knox would not let Amanda run free even if the drug had worn off by now.

We all had our suspicions and began to worry. She was pack even though she was sick. Because of our suspicions it was easy to release some additional information about Knox. Some was to a crime figure she had robbed. The newspapers learned how Knox had brushes with the law from time to time and we listed what Knox told us. The papers would have to dig if they wanted more. We could not give out too much because she would get suspicious. What we spread could have been found out by an investigator.

We went back to the school and integrated Tiffany into the pack. There was some sex but Tiffany was just held and cherished. Knox was still in the hospital. Security told us that she was answering police questions or talking to lawyers most of the time. She could come to the school but the police would come here or drag her down to the station if she were mobile.

The pack could go to the hospital to score points but that would put us even more in the public notice. Some of us were runaways and some may just be reported as missing.

When the shift change came for the security detail I was there to meet them. I was specifically looking for the goon squad. Caitlin appeared but she knew nothing about Amanda though others might. Two of the goon squad had died in the attack on Knox but there were three more people to investigate.

We were in a lot better position to leave now but we could not go without saying goodbye to Sam and giving some support to his parents. I didn't trust Tiffany behind the wheel of one of the vans until she got hold of herself. Amanda still bothered me and I wanted to take her with us if she were still alive.

We exercised and trained hard but the preparations for battle had distanced us more from the teachers and students. We had not responded to their orders and they figured we were in trouble when Knox came back. I took half of the pack out and found suitable clothing for the funeral. The second half went later. The dogs got very upset when we were all gone. We missed them too. They were like missing pieces of a puzzle when we all left.

The shopping also allowed us to find other clothing that would blend in with the general population. Our school clothing was excellent but not for being inconspicuous. Knox liked to see us strut our stuff.

I had hedged my bets and taken the pack and got people in security to show us the tricks of the trade. This would look like good contingency planning for Knox but it was for our own benefit. One of the things I learned was that there were sensors all over the property and it would be difficult for any to approach the house without an alarm being given.

Knox came home in an entourage of four cars. We were there and trying to look like troops. She just gave us a look and entered the house. Her shield was up because she knew that most of us could read minds.

It was not long after that I was summoned to Knox's office. Instead of a pat on the back she snarled, "What right did you have to take the weapons"

I snarled back, "By the same god damned right that you shot and killed people trying to kill you. They tried to kidnap Sam and Tiffany. The school was a logical target. I have no plans of being shot or kidnapped while you were away on a vacation. We had to defend ourselves and I was damned sure I was going to do so."

She was about to explode I could see but she began to laugh instead then held her bandaged head. "I guess you had a right. You could have got in trouble."